Saanich burglars caught in the act by police

Two Esquimalt men who stumbled into an area where VicPD were already conducting an active property crime investigation now face five charges, including break and enter, possession of break-in instruments.

One of the men also faces a charge of failure to comply with recognizance, a condition attached to a previous offence.

The charges stem from a Jan. 11 incident in which two men were observed by VicPD officers in the area of Craigflower and Tillicum roads conducting what department spokesperson Const. Matt Rutherford called a “proactive property crime investigation.”

“It’s not unusual for the officers in this unit to conduct this sort of investigation when crimes have been committed in a specific area,” he said. “There had been some property crimes in the area and the officers were there in response to that situation.”

The men were deemed by officers to be behaving in a suspicious manner and were later followed to a residence in the 200-block of Obed Avenue in Saanich, where a break-in occurred.

In combination with Saanich police and its K9 unit, the two men were quickly taken into custody.

“This is just an example of how co-operation is important between the municipalities. We had VicPD enlisting the help of Saanich police to take individuals into custody who had originated in Esquimalt,” Rutherford said.